Palestine protests ramp up as year ends and tensions rise
Saturday 7th June: Pro-Palestinian protestors hold banners as they stand on ALERT at the Great Exhibition Road Festival.
Tuesday 10th June: A student announces a hunger strike asking for Imperial to investigate Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, form a student-staff working group on ethical investment, and divest from arms companies accused of being complicit in alleged war crimes committed by the Israel Defense Forces. At the same time, both Imperial Action for Palestine (AfP) and Friends of Palestine (FoP) society, and ICL Staff for Palestine Network, separately created open letters for students and staff each to sign.
The student letter specifically called for an ethical investment group across student and staff, asking for the group “must be included and invited to any and all University council [sic], committee meetings and panels about Imperial’s ethical policies and financial decisions,”, with a “minimum of fortnightly” meetings.
Imperial College has maintained the position that they do not comment on geopolitical matters.
On Wednesday 11th June, students interrupted a careers talk with Microsoft, due to Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service used by the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Microsoft and Imperial College did not comment.
As of Thursday 19th June, the student open letter has reached at least 259 signatures. Imperial have responded to the student on hunger strike and have agreed to investigate any accusations of anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.
The hunger striking student publicly announced via AfP’s Instagram page that they will continue the hunger strike until all their “requests” are met. An Imperial College London spokesperson said: “The safety of our community is our top priority. We are concerned for the wellbeing of a student who has told us they are on hunger strike and are in touch to offer our support. We are committed to freedom of speech and freedom of debate and take all reasonable steps to ensure that members of our community can express their views safely and lawfully on our campuses, however we urge our community not to take risks with their health.”
The Israeli government has approved plans to escalate its offensive in Gaza, including a possible reoccupation of Palestinian territory. Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza earlier this year in March following the breaking of a US-brokered ceasefire, as well as the cessation of food, fuel, medicine, and aid supplies. 53 hostages remain in Gaza, with the most recent Palestinian Health Ministry data indicating a death toll of 55,104 Palestinians. This follows on from a death toll of 1,200 people and some 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials, taken during Hamas’s attack on the Nova festival on 7th October 2023.
